Jan 22, 2013

If you love a slow cooker recipe that requires no pre-cooking, then you'll love this spicy black bean soup. Spicy black bean and chicken soup with tomatoes, chiles, peppers and spices is delicious served with cool avocado and a touch of sour cream. Top it with cilantro for freshness and your taste buds will want to do a mariachi dance.

This month I asked my facebook fans what kind of recipes they wanted to see more of in 2013 and Slow Cooker recipes topped the charts! Second place was main dish meals, so I've been keeping my slow cooker on my counter and have been keeping my promise!

I must confess, it's harder to develop recipes in the crock pot. First, I have to wait at least 4 hours to find out if it's even good and second, not everything works out as imagined. Take this recipe for example, first attempt went right in the trash. Not the first time I dumped a crock pot creation in the trash but one things for sure, they all had onions in the recipe.

I first made this with sauteed onions and there is no doubt in my mind it ruined the soup. Something about onions and crock pots just don't work together, and this is not the first time. Second attempt I did everything the same but replaced the onions with onion powder and it was perfect, delicious, even. Even better for all of you because there's no pre-cooking anything, so it's easy!

This makes a nice amount of soup, perfect for freezing and reheating for a second night, or for lunch on the go. I love this topped with avocado and sour cream to mellow the heat, but it would also be great with a little cheese on top why not!

It's mildly spicy, not over the top. If you want it milder you can leave the ancho chile powder out. I pureed one of the cans of beans to thicken the soup, and left the second can whole for texture. Next time I may even add some sweet corn! A filling, wholesome, high-fiber meal for only 300 calories, or Weight Watchers 6 points plus. Freezer friendly, and gluten-free.

Take one can of beans and place in the blender along with 2 cups of the chicken broth; puree then add to your slow cooker. Add the remainder of the beans and chicken broth into the slow cooker along with tomatoes, bell pepper, diced green chiles, cumin, chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, chicken breast, and 1/4 cup of the cilantro. Set slow cooker to HIGH 4 hours or LOW 6 to 8 hours.

After it's done, remove chicken and shred with 2 forks. Place back into the slow cooker and add fresh scallions, remainder cilantro and adjust salt and cumin, to taste.

Hi! I just wanted to comment on the onions. Did you, by chance, throw them in a food processor? I have noticed that really bitter, recipe-ruining taste when I've processes certain onions in the Cuisinart. Just a thought. I have never had a problem with hand-chopped onions.

I would cook the chicken beforehand, then throw everything in a pot, bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for 45ish minutes? I've done that with Gina's crockpot chicken enchilada soup before and it came out great. You might just need to add more broth to it since liquids don't really evaporate in the slow cooker. Good luck!

I love every single thing that I have made from this website and I'm sure this will be no exception. Keep coming with the recipes that have cilantro and lime, I just love them! I will definitely be making this one! Do you have a cookbook out for purchase by any chance? I think it would make a great gift!

Just wondering about points. I am a WW member and use your recipes all the time. I put the nutrition info into the online calculator and it came up with 7 points, not 6. Do the points include the avacado and the sour cream?

I also use onions in almost all my crock-pot recipes and I add them to yours many times. Maybe it is the type of onion? I tend to use red onions and I do lightly saute before putting in the crockpot. Adding this to my list for sure.

This may be a silly question, but when do you add the minced red bell pepper? I see it on the ingredients list, but you don't mention anywhere in the rest of the instructions what to do with it. Recipe looks delicious! I love your Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada soup too!

Your photo is beautiful! This sounds really good and will have to try it very soon. I have a recipe in which I add a can of fat free refried beans to the mixture for thickening. Would that work instead of the black bean puree?

Thanks for this! Love a slow cooker recipe that doesn't require much pre-work. I also love onions in my slow cooker recipes (I don't usually saute first either; just throw 'em in raw). Also, I got 5 pp for this, but left out the avocado and sour cream... I'm assuming the extra point was for one or both of those. Thanks again! Trying this recipe this week!

I precut my chicken breasts into 2 inch pieces BEFORE I put them in the crockpot so I don't have to shred after they're cooked. Shredded chicken turns to strings if its reheated. Do the same with crockpot chicken soup, nice solid pieces of chicken instead of strings.

Hmm... I just threw this in the crock pot, but realized my bell pepper is still sitting here. I'm just going to throw it in... I assume there's nothing more that needs to be done to it? Also, the final instructions say to adjust salt and cumin as needed, but the recipe does not call for any salt. Was that an oversight, or are we just supposed to add whatever amount of salt we think will work at the end? Thanks, Gina! Can't wait to try it!

Cooking with a crockpot is hard for me too! I always like a heartier soup and if something ends up too liquidy - boom, right in the garbage. I am so thankful for this time-tested recipe and cannot wait to try it!

i made this tonight except on the stove because i ran out of time to get it started today..it came together nicely and was delicious..loved by all family memebers..i followed the recipie as stated!!!thanks it was filling and delicious..could i get a serving size clarification with calorie count..

Made this yesterday ... EASY and FULL of flavor. However, a little too spicey for my taste and I used less of the chili powder (just regular chili powder), half the chopped green chilis, and one can original and one can mild Rotel. What gave it the heat?? Help .....

Also, really don't need the fresh cilantro and scallions if you don't have them.

I love black bean soup and I love that the slow cooker makes it easy! What I've done in the past to other soups is take a hand blender in the slow cooker to blend the beans. I might try that for this recipe.

I have a lot of ground turkey that I'd like to use up; do you think that it would ruin the flavor of this dish if I substituted it in for the chicken? I'm a college student, so I kinda have to work with the budget my parents give me, and I'd like to not have to purchase chicken.

This has been in my crock pot simmering all day. First, let me say that the aroma that is wafting through my house is simply delectable. I just ate a bowl and added a bit of shredded cheese and I am in my super happy place with this recipe. Gina, you've saved me so many times with your recipes I can't thank you enough. You are a master at your craft (which I'm so glad of, because I stink at cooking).

This was a big hit with my family - I thought it was delicious. I did leave out the ancho chili powder because I thought it might be too spicy for the kids to go for it, and it was still flavorful and yummy. I did add the corn (just some frozen kernels). We ate it with the scallions, avocado, lime and crushed tortilla chips. Fabulous! Will definitely make it again.

This looks amazing! I'm so glad you listened to us and decided to make more crockpot recipes! I've been looking for some easy crockpot recipes and this is right up my alley. I love a spicy dish. I'm going to make this add the avocado and skip the sour cream. I can't wait!

This seems very special to me, but looks delicious. Normally cook black bean soup in Asian style and use pork rib. But I have try black bean soup cook with fish, it is so nice, the fish bone melt in mouth. Sometimes use peanut to cook soup too and will add the garlic in whole clove, just smash a bit, then can eat the garlic too. :)

I made this last night for my husband and I, and it was delicious! THANK YOU! it was so nice to get home from work and have something hot and ready to eat! You are awesome! I cannot wait for your cook book! :)

Sounds perfect..love the combination of flavors..I do not have a slow cooker,but I use my pressure cooker for some meals. Any advise on how to convert this to a pressure cooker meal?..Can you include more pressure cooker meals..I am sure I would use mine more often.

Looks wonderful!! Quick question....my husband has recently become a vegetarian, and I was wondering if I took out the chicken, what could I put in its place? Or, would it be just as hearty without having to substitute anything in place of the chicken? Silly question I know, but I figured I'd ask the experts here :) Thanks!

Oh, this was delicious! I couldn't find ancho chile powder so I used regular chile powder with just a tiny pinch of chipotle chile powder. We set up a little toppings bar for it and everyone loved it! Thanks for another fantastic recipe!

This was delicious and easy! I just recently discovered your site and have loved everything I've made. I was one of those skeptics who said healthy eating was boring, but you have proven me wrong - thank you! :) I don't suppose anyone knows the points value without the avocado and sour cream? I tried re-creating the recipe in WW and it came up as 2 points per serving which seems low so I'm thinking it's user error...

Tonight I'm making the Stuffed Cabbage Casserole - I'm sure it will be another winner!

My family made this today and it was so delicious!! We loved the fact that we could turn on the Crock Pot in the morning and have a delicious meal waiting for us when we got home. We are definitely making this again.

this soup is fantastic. great flavor and I can't believe it's only 5 points! (without avocado). I did add a chopped up onion but I keep the onion pieces large and do not sauté them before hand. really great Gina!

This is SOOOO good! I'm eating it right now for lunch...my first bites of it ever....and oh my goodness! YUM. i even forgot to pack sour cream and avocado in my lunch bag, but it's ok because even on its own, this soup is nummilicious! Thanks, Gina!

I made this last week and it was wonderful! My picky daughter even liked it. I substituted a few spices to go with what I already had in my pantry but really loved it! I also added corn just to add to the southwestern flair.

I made this the other day and it was great. I used a pound of boneless, skinless, organic chicken thighs from Wegmans. I added a hint of Cayenne, and next time I would double the chicken to make it thicker. Thank you!

Made this last night and it was great, as all of your dishes always are. We had really big chicken breasts and I think I would have done just one of those huge ones next time and more vegetables. I added the corn like you said you thought you'd do next time and loved it.

Can I do this without pureeing half of the black beans? I don't have a mixer and I was thinking I could just add it all in to the crock pot. The broth might not be as thick, but I was wondering if anyone has tried it that way. Thanks!

Gina, I tried this last week and it was AMAZING. I made some quinoa and added it to everyone's bowl and it was gone! I was shocked because I thought I'd have some left over. I had one serving size and it was PLENTY for me. My husband and our two guests ate the rest!

It was so good, in fact, that I'm making it again today for my in-laws that fly in tonight. Thank you so much! Just delicious!

A very good and informative article indeed . It helps me a lot to enhance my knowledge, I really like the way the writer presented his views. I hope to see more informative and useful articles in future.

You put the raw chicken into the crock pot with all the ingredients, then take it out and shred it? Sorry, I'm confused by the instructions and the picture. The chicken does not look like it was cooked in the puréed beans and tomatoes before you shredded it.

I made this today -- so good! I used dried onion instead of onion powder and left out the cilantro, since I'm one of those people for whom cilantro tastes like soap. But it was still great, anad perfect for a snowy winter day!

Using dried onion works well in the SC. Just don't use too much! I use about 1-2 Tbsp per recipe. Here is a link to a healthy soup I just made that I LOVE...healthy too. Try it, you'll like it :)http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/2012/12/recipe-for-slow-cooker-healthy-chicken.htmlp.s. just love your blog. I find so much inspiration here!

I love this recipe !! It's the first thing I've ever tried in a crockpot on my own ! It came out great the first time a little spicy so I halved the powders and then it wasn't spicy enough. Trying another happy medium today !

Personally, I rather see more pressure cooker recipes. I used to use slow cookers pretty often -- until I got my pressure cooker. Now I only use a slow cooker about once a year and even then, I'm using my pressure cooker that has a slow cooker function.

So, this recipe looks great but I'll need to modify it for the pressure cooker. Cook the beans from dry rather than using canned -- I think that will be about one cup of dried beans. I'll cook them first, that will take about 20 minutes, and blend half. Then I'll make the rest as instructed except it will be a lot faster -- probably only 8 to 10 minutes for the rest of the recipe.

Hi Gina! This recipe is one of my favorites! We are heading to the beach this week and I like to take my crock pot so that I can have dinner cooking away while we are swimming. Since I don't feel like dragging my blender as well, do you think I could do the beans/brother blend before we leave and then save it for a couple of days later? I feel like I can, but I'm afraid it might be weird. Thanks!

Mines in the crock pot now! been in there for 3 and 1/2 hours on low and its super thin.. I followed the recipe exactly, i'm new to crock pot cooking! Will it thicken up later after I shred the chicken breast?

I've been wondering about that "crock pot taste" that I find unpleasant with many slow cooker recipes. I heard someone mention on a cooking show the other day to try sauteeing onions before adding them to the crock pot, and that may alleviate the problem. I'm going to try that next time and see if it makes a difference. I'm planning to make this recipe this week!

I made this over the weekend in my crock pot and added 1/2 cup brown rice near the end and used non-fat Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream. With the brown rice, the consistency was thicker and more like a stew which I loved! Another winner from Skinnytaste!

We did this a few nights ago, and couldn't stop raving about it. Spicy & hearty, we just served it with rolls for texture, and skipped the sour cream, lime, avocado, etc (though those certainly would go well with it). After a few days, the tomatoes started to taste a bit "tinny", but I don't think that was the recipe's fault. I''ve sent several friends to this page, and will definitely be making it again. Thanks!

we made this last night in our new electric pressure cooker. it turned out great! we just dumped everything in the pot and locked the lid. Using the "stew" setting on 25 min was just right. However, the pressure cooking process contained all the liquid, and then some... so next time we may cut the broth in half or add more veggies/beans. we only had one can of rotel, so i will keep that, may get the mild rotel next time.delicious!

Love, Love, LOOOOOOVE this soup! I've made it a million (and five) times already. Its the best thing ever and even better its sooooooooooooooo easy. I mean it doesn't get any easier, really? EVERYONE....make it today!!! :DPS: total time saver using one can of refried beans rather than pulling out the blender! xo